Tension device for loom-shuttles.



No'. 665,004. P

' I F. s. HAMEL a J. R. vELLAcoTT.

TENSION DEVIlGE FUR LUDMSYHUTTLES.

(ipliu ion med .nm 2a, 1900.)

atente'd lan. l, I90I.

(N0 Model.)

INVENTORS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FELIX SHAlV HAMEL, OF NEAR TAMWORTH, AND JAMES RICHARD VEL- LACOTT, OF LONDON, ENGLAND; SAID VELLACOTT ASSIGNOR TO SAID HAMEL.

TENSION DEVICE FOR LOOM-SHUTTLES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 665,004, dated January 1, 1.901. Application filed June 26, 1900. Serial No. 21.657. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern: Beit known that we, FELIX SHAW HAMEL, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and

a resident of Bole Hall, near Tamworth, in,

lset forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to shuttles for looms or other machines in which shuttles are used, and has for its object to provide such shuttles with devices whereby tension is exerted upon the supply of thread or weft (carried by and supplied from the bobbin or spool) in an even or practically even manner andA so that cylindrical and long bobbins or spools carrying a large supply of thread or weft can be used with the shuttles and the proper tension be maintained throughout the whole of the unwinding of the bobbin or spool and in such a manner that the liability of breaking of the thread or weft is greatly lessened, and it is laid at the fell with no undue tension or slack.

The following is a description of Vthe improvements according to this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a plan without the bobbin, and Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 a side elevation, with the bobbin in place. Fig. 4 is a diagram to which reference is hereinafter made in explaining the principle of the action of the tension device.

The shuttle illustrated is one suitable for what is known as a Poyser tape-loom; but from the description of this the application of this invention to shuttles generally will be understood.

The shuttle-body A is in an arrangement according to this invention provided with side ears or projections a to receive the pivots of a long bobbin or spool B, carrying the thread or weft. At the back of the shuttle and pivoted to the body of the shuttle is a pressure-plate or brake O, bearing against the thread or weft Wound on the' bobbin or spool, the bearing force being exerted by a spring D acting upon the free end of a lever E, connected to the pressure-plate or brake O b v the link o. The other end of the said lever E is pivoted at e near one end of the bobbin or spool, the free end of the said lever E'preferably extending to or beyond the center of the length of the bobbin orspool and being there of elbowform. The spring D is preferably a long spiral spring, the end of which opposite that which is connected to the free elbowend of the le ver E is connected at d with the shuttle-body near to, but behind, the point at which the lever E is pivoted,this connection being effected by means of a ball-headed screw, which can swivel in a hole in a projection from the shuttlc-body, the said screw being screwed into a nut d2 to which the end of the spring is affixed. The pressure of the plate or brake C upon the thread or weft of the bobbin or spool B can be varied by lengthening or shortening the spring by means of the screw at d. The thread or weft as it passes from the bobbin or spool and before it leaves the shuttle passes through guides consisting of eyes or loops or l the like. In the case, for example, illustrated, these guides consist of eyes a2 d3, carried by the body of the shuttle in a line at right angles to the length of the bobbin or spool and at or about midway of its length, there being another eye @4in the nose of the shuttle, or that part by which the thread or weft leaves the shuttle. The thread or weft when it first passes from the bobbin or spool is led, if desired, over a radius guide-bar F, forming the arc of a circle struck from the eye a2 to prevent undue sdeway drag on the thread or weft, and then the said thread or weft is led through the eyes carried by or in the body part, as aforesaid, and also, if necessary, through the eye of the spring-lever G, which acts as a taker-up of slack.

This device maintains a practically uniform and equal tension on the thread or weft as it is unwound from the bobbin or spool and 4 paid outexerting practically the same retarding force during the whole time of the IOO unwinding of the bobbin or spool from when it is full till it is exhausted or sufficiently exhausted to necessitate the replacement of the bobbin or spool by a full one, and as the bobbin or spool which can be used with this arrangement is of considerable size and carries a large amount of thread or weft the loom or other machine can be operated for a considerable period without stoppage.

The improved effect of the arrangement according to this invention is due to the pres- `sure-plate or brake being applied directly on the outer layer of thread or weft on the bobbin or spool, thereby exerting the retarding force at exactly the same distance from the center of the bobbin or spool as that from which the thread or weft is being paid olf. It therefore follows that if a pressure which is uniform throughout the unwinding of the bobbin or spool be applied by the brake a uniform tension of the thread or weft will result-that is, a given pull on the thread or weft will always rotate the bobbin or spool and pay out the thread or weft properly.

The action of the spring and elbow-lever construction in which the spring and lever are pivoted to the shuttle-body toward one end of the bobbin or spool and extending lengthwise of each other and of the bobbin can best be explained by referring to the diagram, Fig. 4E, in which the positions of the said spring D and lever E when the bobbin is full and when it is empty, or nearly so, are respectively shown in full lines and in dotted lines. The two arcs of circles and 0c are struck, respectively, from the pivot-points of the lever E and the spring D. The distance apart of the arcs at w shows how much the spring D has shortened, while the two arcs y and y tangential with the center lin es of the spring in the two different positions show the increase of leverage during the movement, thus compensating for the decreased pull of the spring. With a given springD and given movement of the lever E within the limits required for this purpose the pull 0n the link c may be made greatest at the beginning of the movement or greatest at the end by placing the pivot-point cl of the springinvthc general direction of its length in relation to the pivot e of the lever or by lengthening or shortening the link c, its point of connection with the pressure-plate or brake C remaining the same. Therefore the pivot-points of the spring D and elbow-lever E can be so fixed in relation to each other as to exert a uniform pull on link c throughout the movement.

This tension device is equally efficient with smooth and even and with rough and uneven thread or weft. The arrangement 0f spring and lever and tension-plate hereiubefore described can be applied to shuttles generally where such an arrangement will be useful.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

` A tension device for the shuttles consisting of a plate or brake bearing on the thread of the bobbin, an elbow-leverin connection with the said plate or brake, and a spring connect ed to the said lever, the said lever and spring being pivoted to the shuttle-body toward one end of the bobbin and extendinglengthwise of each other and of the bobbin, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described. In testimony whereof we have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrib ing witnesses.

FELIX SHAW HAMEL. JAMES RICHARD VELLAOOTT.

Witnesses to the signature of Felix Shaw Hamel:

WILLIAM JoHN WEEKS, PERCY READ GOLDRINE. Witnesses to the signature of James Richard Vellacott:

PERCY READ GOLDRINE, J oHN EDWARD NEWTON. 

